Yola is a Hausa name that means "firefly" and it couldn't be more fitting for the light she brings to her family and the spark she starts in each of us to fight for a world with gorillas in it. Critically endangered and losing ground every day in the wild, western lowland gorillas need our help. Every visit to Woodland Park Zoo helps support conservation efforts like our Wildlife Survival Fund project, the Mbeli Bai Study. The study researches the social organization and behaviors of more than 450 lowland gorillas living in the Republic of Congo, providing the scientific basis for conservation strategies.

Yola learns from he rmother every day, and we learn from them. Photo: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo.